Allen Ginsberg: Buddhism and the Beats

[@dharmaofdog7676]

Alan was truly the sweetest Person I've ever met, for years he cared for his Mother and always spoke about her with such gentleness. If you ever saw him carrying a little string tied pastry box, it was usually a favorite pastry he was bringing home to her . One year in the early 80's, I was asked to accompany & sit with his Mother at a Reading of Howl at Columbia University. When Alan read some of the "juicier" lines, I discreetly side glanced, curious her reaction - assuming discomfort. I couldn't have been more inaccurate as there she sat, smiling and made little nods of approval. It was an small yet extraordinary moment, feeling this Mother's love for her son. Every winter I would run a Children's Event at a Buddhist Center in NYC and one year, invited Alan to come Read a Poem to entertain them. From that point on, for years he would call me in advance of the Event and offer to Read AND sing accompanied by his Concertina (usually Blake) - Alan said he called ahead in case I forgot and to make sure it got on his Schedule. "Haha Alan, forget, really!?" I can't think of any better example that demonstrates Alan's incredible sense of generosity and thoughtful nature. A Brilliant Heart and Mind. Ki Ki So SO!

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Yes, a humble giant of a man that fit into that little body. Great story, yes this is the side of Allen we like to hear about, explains it all.

[@hurzlknurz122]

Is this about Allen's mother? Didn't she die much earlier?

[@dharmaofdog7676]

@@hurzlknurz122 - good point! I just googled & you're correct. The Woman I met must have been his "Step-mother"? That wasn't clarified as I was just asked if I would escort Allen's Mother to her Seat & sit with her at Event, think in 83'? Also, to add, Abbie Hoffman came & sat on my left and also leaned over me & said, "Hello, Mother" in greeting. Once when I met up with Allen he was carrying a Pastry Box & he told me he was taking it home for his Mother, from a favorite Bakery of theirs. There was definitely a feeling of Mother Love between them.

[@fintanoclery2698]

He always had a penchant for buggary on underage boys and cheerleaded for NAMBLA. You keep cheerleading for him though eh

[@liamwhitney509]

@@fintanoclery2698 smaug

[@roofdweller]

I love this man who had a profound impact upon me as a young man and ongoingly, still, now, in almost old age - to hear this discourse in one big long exhale of mind (and the shapeliness thereof of G's mind and expression) endears me to him all the more. I live near where he used to here in the East Village of NYC, I would often see him walking about the neighborhood, sitting on a bench at the end of my street, once on a grave in the old graveyard, at St. Marks Church, and would thrill at the sighting. Too shy to say hello or approach I ghosted around him hoping that some contagion of poetry would catch in me by indirect but close transmission from Allen. This video talk serves as such along with many more films, documentaries, his books and songs. Grateful for him and to him. Truly brilliant mind and man and human, all too human, as are we all. Here's a late poem by Allen written in the East Village: Fourth Floor, Dawn, Up All Night Writing Letters Pigeons shake their wings on the copper church roof out my window across the street, a bird perched on the cross surveys the city's blue-grey clouds. Larry Rivers 'll come at 10 AM and take my picture. I'm taking your picture, pigeons. I'm writing you down, Dawn. I'm immortalizing your exhaust, Avenue A bus. O Thought, now you'll have to think the same thing forever!

[@suzt1029]

So now Warren, this old woman loves you too

[@insight8881]

wow, that poem sucked. alan would have sexed you up when you were a kid.

[@JorgeGomez-hx5uu]

@@dorathee7284 how is he a moron? what hes saying is factual. Its the reason why I will forever hate Allen Ginsberg and his writing. Disgusting pedophile supporter.

[@jaythered49]

well spoken Warren! He is truly a brilliant man! Saw him sing his poetry at UNCA just before he passed away. He would not start until all the people that couldn't get in were seated and the only place left for them was on stage with him! I was so sorry I got there early! His poetry and very being came alive for me once I heard him sing those poems!! Check out his Naropa lectures available online.

[@lynnnicholas64]

I was there that night with Ginsberg and Lobsang on the subway back to Manhattan from Brooklyn. I will never forget that night. How lovely to see Lobsang so young, and Charles ! thank you Robin !

[@robertemerson6090]

I love Alan and his beatific brethren for their openess with human flaws, their sympathy for the searching mind heart, and finding the right thing to say.

[@midianpoet]

Thanks for sharing ! Allen really change my life , over 30 years of poetry and craziness....thank You Allen a thank YOU for sharning this gem , i will download just audio and there will be winter driving with Allen Ginsberg , THANKS ! :) Greetings from Czech, Luboš

[@vasiliosbakagias1202]

One of the greatest poets of the modern age, and a personal icon for me.

[@svendbosanvovski4241]

Thank you for posting this wonderful documentary, Robyn. It has enriched my appreciation of Alan Ginsberg poetry.

[@babbarr77]

This is really great. A wonderful informing story of Allen´s path and America´s path of awakening.

[@JesseNickelltheFourth]

Thanks for sharing this with us!

[@mwmingram]

This is really fantastic! A gold mine. Thank you so much for posting.

[@3340steve]

Thank you for posting this excellent video. It is an accurate portrait of the complexity of this man. There are some very revealing statements of the poet's mind, unguarded expression about the world, language, and the progress of consciousness.

[@4-dman464]

Ginsberg's transcribed lectures on literature delivered at Naropa are so insightful and clear, well worth finding in his nonfiction books. OK?

[@gracedague9528]

Thanks for posting. I'm using this for some research and it is very helpful.

[@howardleekilby7390]

Thank you Allen Ginsberg for visiting Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas in October 1994 as the Featured Poet of the Arkansas Celebration of the Arts in Poetry. Walking beside you up Bathhouse Row toward the Arlington Hotel where you were holding a poetry recital. You chanted the Heart Sutra. It was a technicolor day and I was walking beside you. Thank you for keeping my letters in your papers donated to Stanford. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@liamwhitney509]

What a gift. Thank you.

[@benjones4389]

this is great for my dissertation thank you for posting.

[@middayz]

Wow how that great poetic voice can remember to remember. Thank you.

[@jameshoulahan]

Thank you for posting this. Very interesting!

[@mattr2961]

Marvelous storyteller

[@KNOWLEDGEREINGS]

What an amazing language to understand. I am grateful to have English as my mother tongue

[@nicholasdarraugh7626]

Thank you!

[@bettywing52]

Excellent source information about Allen Ginsberg's involvement in founding Shambhala with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970-1987.

[@echohotel7975]

Also a member of NAMBLA

[@adrianoclincho1852]

top class thank you.

[@bigbeefscorcho]

I have a heavy case of Ginsberg resentment, I always have. Thank you for uploading, wonderful stuff

[@peterbaranyai6057]

You either love him or hate him but you can't deny he was on the ball , very sharp mind. I liked him ,his work .

[@ImbecilicMoron]

can u elaborate im interested

[@Len124]

@@ImbecilicMoron I don't think our friend Beef is coming back, but I'm also interested in what they meant by such a mercurial statement. It's loaded with intent, but I can't parse it. Ginsberg is a controversial figure for sure, but I can't tell whether the comment was praise, scorn, or both. What do you think it meant? I'm interested in your interest.

[@pearljackson-payen591]

@@Len124 If you watch the whole video you will find the reference.

[@mikeoglen6848]

@@Len124 As stated, very clearly, he resented Ginsberg for some reason. Why, exactly, he did not say.

[@xanadu_syntax]

Thanks a lot!

[@rd264]

these writers were not trying to escape or 'beat' anything except the waste of time club that is materialism. I grew up in a town next to Paterson NJ, and eventually rode my bike to the top of Garret Mountain overlooking Paterson Falls. I was astonished that such a beautiful sight was right there, next to my home town, yet no one I knew in my town mentioned it. Williams "Paterson" was never mentioned by anyone outside of poetry. No one in my town seemed to know about Williams. I'm so grateful for Allen who appreciates every writer and is the best of his generation. Maybe any generation. I met him in Boulder in 1974 as a student.

[@stephenhargrave7922]

Buddhism has the same pitfalls as any other religion. As a literary device it is wonderful. As a dogma...meh, I can take it or leave it. Definitely a good remedy in this bygone age long past the apocalypse and the bomb. Passive acceptance. You have to try and imagine the Garantuan strain on the minds of men who watched the world change after the bomb. Those who new the world before imminent doom. Buddhism is a natural conclusion of coming to grips with this new reality. It may be a death trip to practice active resistance but it is admirable and the only way to affect outward change. That's an opinion, but Americans ego in meditation usually leads to inward selfishness. Exactly what the hippies became. Jane Fonda workout vanity just focus on you follow your bliss forget your fellow man

[@michaelgove9349]

​@@stephenhargrave7922 Encountering inward selfishness in meditation is a positive experience. The meditation does not cause the selfishness, it simply reveals it. And since it will not shift until it is revealed, the opportunity to look at it is extremely valuable. People who have not allowed themselves to meet the inner selfishness can spend their whole lives projecting it onto others.

[@parrotsandpelicans]

Ginsberg mentions Suzuki Roshi several times in this interview, but he's actually talking about DT Suzuki.

[@StanKindly]

what did he say at 39:40 ?

[@amillionlittledingdongs6768]

Their people’s strategy is divide and conquer-they push racism on all sides.

[@jylyhughes5085]

Oh thank you ...... xxx

[@stephenhargrave7922]

The beat generations PR man. Affecting the image to suit any era.

[@michelleleehoward2301]

🖤

[@luboceric6468]

I came into contact with the Naropa Institute in 1978. Someone stole the postcard though. Robbers have not left me alone since then. see the talk. I'll vote that I like this film. Hot water system stopped working last night. Had been telling myself that a meditation practice doesn't work won't do it tonight. Is hat poetic justice?

[@liammcooper]

1:02:00 on how to write a haiku.

[@petelarose998]

Allen Ginsberg was a great man and a great poet and a very wise man that I wish I could have known him and some of the other be writers especially Jack Kerouac great god and goddess bless all of them.

[@fintanoclery2698]

He was a kiddly fiddler and the other a violent alcoholic. I hope it's warm where they are.

[@kaylaclarkyall]

Allen Ginsberg was also a member of Nambla which is disgusting

[@jeffreycabanellas8113]

Ran into A.G but never spoke-I suppose what was to be discussed I covered in my reading of his and others of a like mind.Never the less I feel that I understood him and simply had little to discuss. The world could use a few more philosophers and poets of the same caliber as A.G.But I guess we are really on are own and don’t need anyone to explain what should be obvious by now. Knowing this I still miss his voice.

[@excelsior999]

From "Rumor Has It That ---," (a show of Apocrypha & Hipocrypha" Rumor has it that the producers of "Gilligan's Island" originally wanted to have a character on the Island whom the writers named "Wacky Beatnik Poet." Ginsberg tried out for the part but wasn't hired because before each of his lines he would say, "According to The Buddha, ... ." Allen then put together his own "Beatnik Poet" act and took it on the road. He opened at the "Gay Paree Cocktail Lounge & 24 Hr. Laundromat," which is about two miles from the Las Vegas Strip. His act was a hit, but he was fired because after each show he insisted on giving a lecture on some topic which nobody was interested in, such as "Can You Be Buddhist and Gay?," and a guide for Slackers and Grifters called "Tell Them You're a Poet," which included a list of places where one could purchase a Beatnik costume, complete with a Beret (one size fits most), a paste-on Goatee and a book titled, "The Beginner's Guide to Passing Yourself Offas a Wacky Beatnik Poet." TRUE: Since most poets die either broke or in debt, Ginsberg must have been doing something right, since he had $3 million in the bank at the time of his death.

[@adamsaunders3413]

People giggle when acid is mentioned, it was a serious business not just getting stoned

[@davidharter8476]

11:30 Chant

[@StopFear]

Much respect to Ginsberg. BUT there is something in this video that reminds me of experience I had with some American students of Buddhism. Some people take Buddhism classes and most likely mean well and have sincere interest in reaching enlightenment. But I think they fundamentally do not get something, OR perhaps fail to honestly identify their own motivations for studying Buddhism. I think they are more interested in the American counter culture that started in the 50s and the American politics as opposed to in the Buddhism itself. I think to them Buddhism and enlightenment is secondary to their political/cultural activism but they are not honest about it. I have no doubt some people understand what I am referring to. It feels wrong and feels like unknowingly they are doing a disservice to other seekers.

[@andrewroy4093]

Seek and ye shall find... Sorry just had to lol

[@descartesdonkey4291]

knowing something doesn't necessarily mean you can escape the intellectual spiral of self flagellation

[@lucboyce5950]

1:02:03

[@michaelmcgrath2482]

I'd love to have been there. I would ask about the black crown ceremony with 16 karmapy. Also I'd have to ask about Dylan.

[@456zounds]

Dylan Thomas or Bob Dylan?

[@James_the_Builder]

@@456zounds Bob Dylan

[@superfuzzymomma]

Long friendship indeed, Bob and Allen.. I have fond memories of the Dylan show at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan on October 19 1994. As the room began emptying after an incredible performance I notice Allen seated at a table with two gorgeous blondes. It was a beautiful evening in so many ways.

[@davidharter8476]

18:00

[@kanchhalama9766]

Knowledgeism is narrower or wider in time and space person to person

[@drewcheesman9268]

🙏☯️👁

[@robertlepper5460]

Showing my age but it is scary to see his legacy being slowly eroded due to his views/actions regarding 'young boys'

[@fintanoclery2698]

So you see no issue with the r ape of a child as long as it's done by a poet you like? Do you understand why your generation is mocked relentlessly? You are sick

[@amillionlittledingdongs6768]

@@fintanoclery2698 could be a hâšbårà troll. They literally have an army of trolls to protect their own and influence public opinion in the comments 🤷‍♂️

[@maxstirner4197]

“The web of hypocrisy of today hangs on the frontiers of two domains, between which our time swings back and forth, attaching its fine threads of deception and self-deception. No longer vigorous enough to serve Morality without doubt or weakening, not yet reckless enough to live wholly to egoism, it rembles now towardthe one and now toward the other in the spider-web of hypocrisy, and, crippled by the curself halfness, catches only miserable, stupid flies.” - Max Stirner, The Ego and Its Own.” “Another [article of] our faith is that the human soul is a colleague of angels, and that when it behaves in accordance with what is written in the Torah, while it i still [alive] in its body,then [after death] it ill return to its place, to be illuminated by the light of life; but if it sins, it will be rebuffed from its place, and unable to reach it until its sins are expiated, and the length of this rebuffed will be in accordance with the severity and amount of the sins- and our sages call this rebuffed “Gehinnom.”...” - Mordecai Ben Nissan I think Karaite scholars like this are interesting in reference to our turn to Buddhism; its as if they're looking for a more humane version of Judaism or Catholicism when what we need is an immanent critique of Abrahamaic ways of thinking though and I think the Karaites possess this.

[@kaylaclarkyall]

Lucien Carr brought the gang together and called the Beat Generation Lu was the glue.

[@MarcoSilesio]

interesting

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

All is mind

[@Jedlmind]

As a kid, the Beats were my idols. As I mature and learn more of history, philosophy, and politics; the Beats more and more show themselves to have been drug-fueled hedonists with hilariously inflated senses of intellect self-importance....

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Keep reading, do not hault your studies. They were humble geniuses veiled by this idea of abandon. You must ask who would veil them like this? Think about it a bit. Check out Ginsberg India journal - its a second on the road.

[@danocable]

Just read Big Sur about jacks alcoholism.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

@@danocable or Satori in Paris, where he drinks and walks around throughout and bar politics

[@arikawahime9351]

This ain't it chief

[@fintanoclery2698]

@@arikawahime9351 on but it is you petulant child.

[@safetcucaj385]

Allen Ginsberg is a very intelligent human being. But even at his level he barely scratches one grain of sand out of all the combined sands in the universe. Our mortal 75 years on Earth make going farther an impossible feat. If you are with me so far, you have now arrived at the door step of Everlasting Glory Everlasting praise to God the Father.

[@rberliner6680]

Cut the christianity. This is not about Christianity.

[@sunkintree]

Some people are so broken they need fairytales, I suppose

[@nickyzwan2122]

NAMBLA advocate Allen Ginsberg

[@shea086]

Well Mr. Ginsberg, Im not sure if youre still with US but to me this sounds like old stoned stories. I may be wrong but I feel you have made a comfortable living out of name droppin and association with maybe the odd occasional book thrown in here and there. I dont like to be too harsh about it and you were one of the beat crew but name droppin and old stories, while interesting are only a(happened to be there) thing and not an achievement. Yet being there is probably just enough.This is not a hostile comment because even genius needs encouragement, which I beleive you did give. Alot. Alot.

[@billmartyn-smith1364]

I've never understood the attraction

[@ImbecilicMoron]

did he say g**k ?!

[@wallacechristinsen5837]

JESUS loves you.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

I wish he would love himself

[@BrObstreperous]

@@JSTNtheWZRD I wish Ginsberg didn't love little boys so much.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

@@BrObstreperous young men, the little boy thing may just be gossip, like everything else on the internet. I just saw a video where it said they were all freemasons by their gestures to each other - the world is the world and the others will gossip. So forget all that and stop spreading the bad news. Extract the reality from the man's work - and never meet your heroes.

[@bernardofitzpatrick5403]

Wrong forum 😂

[@bernardofitzpatrick5403]

@@JSTNtheWZRD 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@petelarose998]

I just wanted to say that the Lord Jesus Christ loves you very much and died on the cross of Calvary for you. You can accept Jesus as your savior anytime you want Paradise the old saying goes he is only a prayer away could Peter the Pumpkin Eater

[@safetcucaj385]

Just Be careful everyone of Allen Ginsberg. Please I love each and everyone of you please be very careful of Allen Ginsberg. Yes he is awesome but be careful

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

I don't understand what you mean. The words of sages are as hot coals so don't sit so close for it might burn. Or is it his obsession with death, ah, thats kids stuff. I truly wonder what you meant- please tell me. I will not judge.

[@amillionlittledingdongs6768]

@@JSTNtheWZRD he was a very vocal advocate for man-boy secks. He was a NAMBLA member. Nothing to do with him being “too wise” or whatever, he was a danger to children. He also wrote poems about moloch-not a good man.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

@@amillionlittledingdongs6768 we wrote a poem about moloch called the world of men. Innocent blood watering our well manicured lawns

[@sunkintree]

@@amillionlittledingdongs6768 Yes his support of NAMBLA is damning, but I really dont think ANYONE who isnt already messed up in the head needs to be warned against it. Like, it's obvious. It's bad. Any talk otherwise is not to be heeded. And as an aside, there's no evidence I know of that he harmed any children. If you know of anything, feel free to enlighten.

[@xyzllii]

Such mumblings...yawn.

[@bernardofitzpatrick5403]

Wish my mumblings were As erudite and interesting. These dudes were intelligent asf.